Official police statistics on sexual assault against women in Germany captured only a small fraction of the true number of cases, according to a large-scale government-commissioned study released on Tuesday.

The representative study on safety in everyday life surveyed 15,479 people aged 16 and 85 between July 2023 and January 2025.

It aims to provide a clearer picture of crime in Germany, including offences that are never reported to police due to factors such as shame, fear or mistrust of authorities.

The findings showed that women are significantly more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault, but are far less likely to report such crimes.

According to the study, 1.5 per cent of women said they had been victims of rape or other non-consensual sexual acts within the past five years, compared with 0.2per cent of men.

Despite this, only three per cent of affected women reported the incident to the police.

Among male victims, the reporting rate was considerably higher at 14.5 per cent.

Researchers, however, cautioned that the figure is subject to statistical uncertainty because of the relatively small number of cases involving men.

The study also highlighted clear patterns among perpetrators.

Almost all sexual assaults against women (98.2per cent) were committed by men.

In cases involving male victims, 33.7 per cent of assaults were also carried out by men.

Researchers said the results underlined the extent to which sexual violence remains hidden in official crime data.

It also points to persistent barriers that prevent victims, particularly women, from seeking help through the criminal justice system.

 (dpa/NAN)